Coal Pits (Yama) in the Old Days (How to Wind up Mine Cars on an Incline)
1958 - 1963

Mukashi no Yama (Kiriagari; Makiage Hoho)
[Coal Pits (Yama) in the Old Days (How to Wind up Mine Cars on an Incline)]
21.2 x 30.4 cm Ink Painting

In a small-scale coal pit with many faults, miners sometimes had to once again drive upward from the bottom (tsume) of the main slope. In brief, they had to do so in order to mine coal in the hanging wall of a fault, and the cutting work of an ascending slope was called kiriagari.
As a matter of course, miners had to raise an empty mine car and lower a loaded one on such slopes at the same time. These mine cars were raised and lowered with a device called a nezumimaki composed of a pair of large and small sheaves as well as a brake system.

Description of the Inset at the Bottom Center
The left figure shows the nezumimaki with a hydraulic brake system used in Nittetsu Inatsuki Coal Pit in the early Showa era (1926-1989), which did not work well on steep slopes.

Words in the Inset
sokumen: side view
konkuri: concrete caulking
teppan yon-mai: four steel plates
mizu: water
jomen: top view
konkurito: concrete caulking
ichimetoru kurai suiso: cistern of about one cubic meter

Description of the Inset at the Top Left
This type of nezumimaki was used in Mr. Aso's San-nai Coal Pit (today's Aso Farm) around and after 1901.
This slope was an incline across a fault and it was inclined 25 degrees or more. The winding machine with a brake system worked very well.

Words between the Tracks
suihei: level
keisha: slope


Translation Assisted by Mr. Nathan Johndro

<<Last pictorial record    Next pictorial record>>

<<Last 10 items  91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96｜97 | 98 | 99 | 100 |   Next 10 Items>>

96／585